So, have you read the the papers?

At the end of this entry, I am pretty sure I will have readers who think that I am very much in favour of the Muslim community. My stand is yes and no. Yes because I am a Muslim and I will stand up for my fellow Muslims whenever I deem fit, provided that it's for a good and morally sound cause. As for the no... ummm the issue concerns the Muslims and and my being Muslim isn't going to warp my judgements. Rest assured, I am looking at this from a (not completely) neutral perspective.

*They are planning to profile airline passengers. This means that they would search people whom they think are suspects. Now, how would they know if a passenger is suspected to be capable of hijacking a commercial airliner and blowing it up in midair? "... airport bottlenecks could be reduced by careful targeting, with "young Muslim men" a focus. "

Firstly, let me address the part on terrorists because the whole world seems to think that a Muslim is a potential terrorist. This skewed view on Muslims displeases me a great deal. adj : characteristic of someone who employs terrorism (especially as a political weapon); "terrorist activity"; "terrorist state" n : a radical who employs terror as a political weapon; usually organizes with other terrorists in small cells; often uses religion as a cover for terrorist activities. So, does this mean that only Muslims can use religion as a fighting cause? A Christian/Jew/Hindu annihilates thousands of other races (although it is rarely heard of, it could be a possibility, yes?), yet he is not a terrorist? Read up and watch movies. Analyse and compare. I'm sure there are case studies aplenty.

And so why only do passenger profiling only on Asian and especially Muslim passengers? If security is a genuine concern, implement it in such a way that no one gets away unchecked. Are you telling us that it's okay to let a man possibly with fire arm weapon through but an also possibly innocent Asian or Muslim be labelled "travelling while Asian"?

But of course, keeping in mind how extremely important it is to ensure the safety of all passengers, such a measure would be inevitable sooner or later. We can only hope that these screening measures would be carried out in a professional way and not in anyway that would put anyone in an unpleasant disposition.

*If you're interested, you can refer to ST issue 16th Aug; pg 15 -World section. For the full story, click here